Weekend winners
< Matt Ryan. Dude was better Sunday than the best quarterback I've ever seen. What a great moment for a guy who has had a career season. And, yes, there's still one more hurdle to clear, but getting to the Super Bowl is really the baseline mark for any quarterback to be considered great. Want to know how many quarterbacks from the Super Bowl era who are in the Hall of Fame without ever playing in the Super Bowl? Three - Warren Moon, Dan Fouts and Sonny Jurgesen, and Jurgesen was on the Washington team in 1972 but was the back-up to Billy Kilmer.
< Julio Jones. Wow. Yes, Matt Ryan has had a great season, but throwing an 8-yard slant and watching it turn into a 73-yard TD because the catching the ball is from another planet is a pretty sweet deal. Here's more on the scene at the Georgia Dome on Sunday from TFP ace sports columnist Mark Widener.
< Heck, how about an unprecedented third Falcons choice. The Falcons are in the Super Bowl for a lot of reasons, but this roster may be the best collection of talent this franchise has ever assembled. Thomas Dimitroff deserves a lot of credit for that. And let's not forget he pulled the trigger on Ryan at No. 3 overall in his first draft and a few years ago dealt a slew of picks to Cleveland for the pick that became Julio Jones. Going back cross matching those picks, Cleveland dealt the best wide receiver in the game for picks and pieces in trades that became the following players: Phil Taylor, Greg Little, Trent Richardson, Owen Marecic and Brandon Weeden.
< San Antonio. Stewwie has been saying for a while that the Spurs are the best team in the NBA. And in typical fashion - for Stewwie and the Spurs - he was right and the Spurs are quietly going about their BID-ness regardless of who pays attention. Saturday night the Spurs prevailed over the Cavs in overtime in what was a great game to watch.
< UTC football. Who knows which players will be good or fall flat during the recruiting process, but the fact that new Mocs coach Tom Arth had seven players visit and got five commitments bodes well on a lot of fronts. Here's more from TFP UTC beat ace Mean Gene Henley.
FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017 file photo, Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers throws during the first half of an NFL divisional playoff football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. The Green Bay Packers play the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship game, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File) Weekend losers
> Those of us hoping, for, looking forward to and expecting a Sunday full of exciting football. As soon as Jalen Collins stripped Packers fullback Aaron Ripkowski, the Packers-Falcons game was on the brink of feeling like homework for anyone not a diehard Falcons fan. And when the words "Le'Veon Bell" and "hurt groin" were linked early in the nightcap, well, here's hoping the Super Bowl is more exciting.
> NFL postseason in general. OK, take the truly amazing Packers-Cowboys game off the board, and answer this: What has been the best, most dramatic playoff game this postseason? Exactly.
> Kansas City Royals. Everyone involved in that organization - from ownership to fandom - is understandably shook after the surprising death of ace Yordano Ventura. He was killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic. He had a 38-31 record with a 3.89 ERA. He was 25.
> Auburn football. Man, 2017 is going to be a wild ride. Yes, Auburn hired an offensive coordinator this weekend - luring Chip Lindsey from Arizona State - and that hire appears to be pretty impressive. But the stories that were leaked Friday and into Saturday hinted that coach Gus Malzahn was being told who he could and could not look at by athletic department officials and potentially big-money boosters. Buckets, that's a bad deal all around, considering that means a) Malzahn's seat is hotter than any one; b) if the Tigers rebound - a real possibility considering the incoming QB and the young defensive talent, who's to say Malzahn won't bolt for the lack of confidence, and c) all of the above. One thing we know about cliches: They become cliches because they are consistently true, and of the many that apply to this scenario, well, we'll go with the one about having too many cooks in the kitchen.
> Aussie Open favorites. Both No. 1s are out. The Joker's done. So there you go, and should we just give the trophies to Serena and Roger now?
> Bonus: NASCAR. In an effort to make their product more TV friendly, NASCAR is changing its points system. According to reports, NASCAR will reward points for where cars are in certain points of each race. What a bush league move. This would be akin to the NBA giving teams points for leading at halftime. Somewhere Dale Sr. just punched an angel in the ear.
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, right, passes the AFC Championship trophy to quarterback Tom Brady after winning the AFC championship NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017, in Foxborough, Mass. At left is team owner Robert Kraft. The Patriots defeated the the Steelers 36-17 to advance to the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) New England in a class by itself
Well, this may be the best compliment we can pay the New England Patriots:
They have left us speechless. Yep, try that on for size.
With a collection of wide receivers that could double as the swing shift crew of baristas at your nearest Starbucks, Tom Brady continues to roll. Here are some numbers to chew on:
Brady and coach Bill Belichick are now in their seventh Super Bowl together. No other coach-QB tandem has been to more than four.
That was the Patriots' sixth consecutive AFC title game trip.
Belichick has 25 career postseason wins. Twenty-five. No other coach has more than 20.
This is truly a mind-blowing run.
Now add in the knowledge that the NFL governs and regulates striving for every team to be somewhere between 7-9 and 9-7. Strength of schedules adjusted for weaker teams, draft orders, salary caps, you name it and the Patriots are more times than not at a competitive disadvantage under the rules.
But they have Brady, and they have Belichick, and friends, that's the best connection in the modern era of team sports.
Period.
This and that
- Speaking of the Patriots, they are a 3-point pick over the Falcons according to Vegas. The over/under has already moved up to 59.5 from 57.5 in some locales because of early action on the over.
- Well, sometimes you miss picks by a little and sometimes you miss them by a lot. We had the Packers plus-4.5 Sunday, and well, you know how that turned out. We also had the under 51 in the Patriots' 36-17 win over Pittsburgh, which was defeated with meaningless two-point conversion by the Steelers late. So it goes. We finished 2-2 this week, moving our NFL picks to a still robust 20-8 against the spread since early December.
- While our streak is solid, if you had backed the favorites through the entire playoffs, you'd be 8-2 - straight up and against the number. As for totals, the over has hit seven times in the 10 postseason games.
- Luke List finished tied for 41st in the Career Builder Challenge. He was cruising Sunday at 3 under for the day and 12 under for the tournament when he dropped a 6-iron on the par-3 13th in the water that became a double-bogey. He was 4-over on the last six holes. He still pocketed more than $27,000 and is 13th on the PGA money list with more than $887,000 in earnings this season in seven tournaments.
- Couple of nice wins for the Mocs and Vols on Saturday. UT played great in the second half; UTC was amazing in the first 10 minutes and then held on to beat Samford.
- If you missed Friday's interview with Phil Savage, the poobah of the Senior Bowl, on Press Row on ESPN 105.1 the Zone, here's a Q-and-A recap. Savage speaks on Josh Hobbs and Keionta Davis among other topics.
Today's question
Well, you know the drill: Weekend winners and losers.
As for a question, well, yes, we have a couple. On this day 12 years ago, Johnny Carson died. He was the best, and even as good as some of these guys are today - and late night TV is pretty funny right now - there's not a real close second.
As for a Rushmore, let's go here: Rushmore of best coach-star combos. Brady and Belichick are right there with Auerbach and Russell.
Who else makes it?